I get a fair amount of questions about how to cover a large area with WiFi. The short answer is that if you’re a home user, a mesh WiFi system is the answer. But for businesses, that’s not the way to go as businesses go for access points as you can run either Ethernet or Power Over Ethernet (POE) to the locations that need WiFi and you install the access point in that location. So if you’re the latter, we’re going to take a look at one of these access points today. And that’s the EnGenius ECW220S:
This access point is pretty low key and doesn’t occupy a lot of space. It may even go unnoticed by most people. The only thing that you see on the outside are a set of LEDs along the top.The first is power, while the second indicates whether you’re connected to your router. The third and fourth lights indicate the status of the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands respectively.
Underneath is a recessed area where there is your power connection if you’re not using POE (Please note that the power adapter is not included), and a gigabit Ethernet jack that supports POE, both on the left. And on the right is a hole to reset the access point via a paperclip. I should also note that all the brackets and screws that you need to mount this are in the box.
Setup in typical EnGenius fashion is simple. Download and install the EnGenius smartphone app available in Android and iOS versions, scan a barcode on the back of the housing and spend a few minutes getting settings that work for you configured. You might also want to check for a firmware update to make sure that you’re good to go.
The best way to test this is to use POE. So using this EnGenius POE switch, I set it up and did some performance and range testing. I should note that besides getting the power adapter from EnGenius, you can also use a POE adapter like this one that EnGenius sent me to power the access point.
The access point supports the following speeds:
- 5Ghz: 1,200Mbps
- 2Ghz: 574Mbps
And it support up to WiFi6 as well. Plus it supports 2×2 Mu-MiMo. Which means that if you have a lot of devices, you should not notice any slowdowns. In my testing using WiFi 6 doing file copies, I registered an average of 110MB/sec at close range. When I move to the other end of my condo which I measured to be about 10 meters, the speed dropped to 85MB/sec. These are all respectable speeds and won’t cause complaints from anyone.
Now this access points does have a few extra party tricks up its sleeve:
- Wireless intrusion detection system (WIDS) for threat detection
- Wireless intrusion protection system (WIPS) for attack remediation
Those two items mean that you won’t get pwned by someone who’s trying to break into your network via WiFi.
- Zero-wait DFS to avoid client disruption when radar is detected on DFS channels
- Dedicated scanning radios for 24/7 wireless AP security monitoring
- RF spectrum analysis for identifying clean channels and ensuring all SSIDs are legitimate
- Bluetooth 5 low energy for BLE device detection and location-based extended advertising
Those three items will help you to have the best WiFi performance possible and avoid having someone spoof your WiFi to pwn you. The interesting thing about this is that using the scanning feature, I was able to find a total of 33 access points that are around me which is six more than I was previously aware of. And that included what appears to be a smart TV that seems to be advertising itself as a WiFi access point for reasons that I don’t quite understand.
All of this is under the EnGenius suite called AirGuard. All this is free. Though if you want the most security features, you’ll need to buy a “Pro” license (for example, the Network Activities under the diagnostics tool will remain available only for a minute at a time on the basic license). That’s my only negative with this access point as having this sort of security and performance feature set available to you would have made this an unbeatable deal. Though I would argue that at $489 US or $540 Canadian which is what I found it going for on Amazon, it’s still a good deal for those who need an access point or three or five with good performance and security. If that’s you, this access point should be on your list to check out.
New PyPi Malware Steals Discord And Roblox Credential & Payment Info: Sync
Posted in Commentary with tags Synk on August 19, 2022 by itnerdA dozen malicious PyPi packages have been discovered by researchers at Snyk installing malware that modify the Discord client to steal data from web browsers and the popular game Roblox.
The popular online chat application, Discord, is also a target. The malware exfiltrates Discord tokens and injects a persistent malicious agent in the process. This malicious code, known as Discord Injector, can relay an alarming amount of information to the attacker. Not only will it share your credentials, but it can also skim your credit card information if you input it after the injector is loaded.
The packages pretend to be Roblox tools such as thread management and basic hacking modules but in fact simply install password-stealing malware on developers’ devices.
Taylor Ellis, Customer Threat Analyst at Horizon3ai provided this analysis:
“Roblox is an online gaming platform where users go to play games or create their own gaming programs. It is highly popular among children, for according to their user base, 67% of Roblox users are under the age of 16. Contrary to common belief, Roblox is not a game in itself, but is a community of users who share their programs, provide commentary, and sometimes, exchange dangerous executables. Roblox goes in tandem with Discord; an instant messaging and social chatroom platform.
“It is common for Roblox players to go on Discord and join servers to have conversations with friends and other Roblox enthusiasts. On their website, Discord describes itself as a “second home” for Roblox gamers, but after the discovery of 12 malicious packages being downloaded on the platform, it has become a highly perilous place for gamer-safety. Running such executables without an interpreter is a big red-flag.
“When an interpreter runs into an issue while running the code, it will notify the computer with an error message, allowing for easier debugging compared to compiled python code. However, no interpreter is a match for this certain type of PyPi malware, which was able to steal multiple user credentials and payment info. The malicious packages were able to get past Discord’s anti-virus scanner, as well as avoid detection on Windows machines.
“Obviously, Roblox and Discord need to do more to protect the majority of young users on their platforms. Updates to Discord’s virus scanner (which scans documents for malware before they are uploaded to servers) are in the process of being performed, but many other additions must be made to ramp up Discord’s security. Most concerns center on the platform’s procedures to protect user privacy, in which many Discorders find their data being collected by anonymous APIs.
“Discord’s system-wide push-to-talk mechanisms, which are good for allowing immediate communication, sometimes allow user keystrokes to be collected from any application despite being non-permitted by users. Disastrous!Roblox players have much to worry about while using “Discord, for many gamers have fallen victim to malicious web hooks (automated callback messages altering website behavior), ransomware attacks, and other schemes targeting common player interest.
“Perhaps owing to these attacks, Roblox does little to warn their users about the dangers of clicking on malicious links within their platform, which sometimes lead to a malevolent Discord server or external backwater website. According to their user privacy policy, Roblox currently employs chat filtering to prevent inappropriate content being seen by users under 12 years old, but this does not apply to blocking users with a record of posting suspicious content (bad links or downloads) on the platform.
“The only other security restrictions that parents may choose to employ are limited to restricting a few gaming experiences for their child, implementing a parent-accessible PIN, and 2-step verification. None of this, as mentioned, is effective for preventing child-targeted malware.
“While no download coming from an open-source chatroom should be entirely trusted, Roblox and Discord offer an environment of false-comfort for users to feel safe while clicking on any link. In consideration of the fact that the majority of Roblox and Discord’s users are children, they will not necessarily know better to avoid the shady content being posted.
“Regarding the recent rise of social media and other gaming use among younger age groups, this point is easily applied. Overall, the amount of trust circulating between children and strange, anonymous (and potentially dangerous) user accounts has become an even greater challenge to manage.
“In light of this fact, since executable malware will continue to evolve and prey upon those who are ill-equipped to consider its consequences, it is not just up to Discord and Roblox to protect users; users need to protect themselves.
“Mature and full-grown adults still fall victim to malware every day, and while more education and awareness is needed for such age groups, the younger ones are also in dire need of security lessons. Usually, teaching kids about the dangers of the Internet has been left up to parents, but schools could also contribute in training students to have a savvy security mindset. These skills, geared at children, should include teaching how to differentiate between official and unofficial websites, checking sources and anonymous accounts for legitimacy, recognizing scams, and avoiding clicking on unverified attachments or executables.
“Educating children about the dangers of their account or payment information being compromised is an important lesson that they should be aware of, especially with how much more time they spend gaming than other focus groups. It is therefore a priority to ensure that they are not naive in the ways of cybersecurity, that they are developing a mature security mindset and practicing strong security hygiene while being constantly on the lookout to protect themselves, their friends, and their beloved communities from cybercriminals.”
The fact that threat actors are now shifting to kids and young adults show that they continue to evolve. Which means everyone, parents, teachers, etc., need to double down on educating people on how to protect themselves online. Because simply put, nobody is safe.
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